Americans United - Sussex Countyhttps://www.au.org/tags/sussex-county
enWelcome To Fantasy Island: Religious Right Attorney Misleads On Council Prayershttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/welcome-to-fantasy-island-religious-right-attorney-misleads-on-council
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">What’s going on in Sussex County, Del., is a classic case of a local government endorsing one religion over others.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>I sometimes wonder what it must be like to live in the Religious Right’s world. It’s a place where if you don’t like reality, you just make up something else. If you’re annoyed by the fact that the Earth is five billion years old, you can insist that it’s only 6,000 and that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time. If you don’t like the fact that the U.S. Constitution creates a secular government, you can assert that it’s really Christian.</p>
<p>What color is the sky in their world? Perhaps it’s a really cool royal purple!</p>
<p>I got to thinking about this again while reading the latest dispatch from “OneNewsNow,” a web-based Religious Right propaganda mill run by the American Family Association (AFA). (I was a journalism major in college and respect the profession; thus, I refuse to call what the AFA is doing here “news.”)</p>
<p>OneNewsNow <a href="http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1387468">notes that Mat Staver</a> of the Liberty Counsel, a Religious Right outfit now operated from the Falwell empire in Lynchburg, Va., is not happy with <a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/06/au-lawsuit-challenges.html">AU’s lawsuit</a> challenging recitation of the Lord’s Prayer before meetings of the Sussex County, Del., Council.</p>
<p>No surprise there. I didn’t expect Staver to like it.</p>
<p>It’s what he says next that gets me. Defending the Sussex practice, he asserts, “Clearly, this is constitutional, and we need to absolutely, unequivocally draw a line in the sand and resist these efforts to de-christianize and de-religionize America by these radical organizations.”</p>
<p>Clearly this is constitutional? On what planet, Mat? You’re dean of the Liberty University Law School, so how about citing some cases? (I’m waiting.)</p>
<p>The fact is, what’s going on in Sussex County is a classic case of a local government endorsing one religion over others. The council president recites the Lord’s Prayer out loud before every meeting. He does not recite other prayers. I’m not aware of any federal court that has ever upheld a situation like this.</p>
<p>Some so-called “non-sectarian” prayers have survived these challenges – and some sectarian prayers have been upheld, but only when there is religious diversity among the prayers and prayer-givers -- but the Lord’s Prayer is hardly non-sectarian and it is undoubtedly Christian, having been lifted straight out of the New Testament.</p>
<p>Staver goes on to assert that Americans United would “take ‘we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights’ out of the Declaration of Independence; they would eliminate prayer [and] any kind of recognition or acknowledgement of God.”</p>
<p>That’s a serious charge, Mat. Back it up. When have we ever advocated for altering the Declaration of Independence? Name one instance. As for eliminating prayer and references to God, we believe every citizen has the right to engage in the religious activity of their choosing – government, not so much.</p>
<p>Finally, Staver vows to defend Sussex County for free. But again, he fails to tell the whole story. Staver might not bill the county, but if the county loses in court, it will have to pay attorneys’ fees. These can be considerable. If he’s so confident in his legal position, why doesn’t Staver pony up an offer to pay those?</p>
<p>Last month I wrote a <a href="http://blog.au.org/2011/06/23/advice-to-giles-county-thou-shalt-not-gamble-with-scarce-public-school-funds/">blog post </a>about two Kentucky counties – one of them desperately poor -- that are struggling to pay nearly half a million in attorneys’ fees to the American Civil Liberties Union after losing lawsuits over their display of the Ten Commandments. Both counties were represented “for free” by – you guessed it – Mat Staver.</p>
<p>Staver is, of course, free to live in the Religious Right’s World of Make Believe. I just don’t think officials in Sussex County should join him in taking up residence there. It looks nice from the outside, but I hear the place is actually kind of a dump.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1387468"><br /></a></p>
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</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/fighting-religious-right">Fighting the Religious Right</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/prayer-at-government-events-and-legislative-meetings">Prayer at Government Events and Legislative Meetings</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/delaware">Delaware</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-counsel">Liberty Counsel</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/liberty-university-law-school">Liberty University Law School</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/mat-staver">Mat Staver</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sussex-county">Sussex County</a></span></div></div>Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:47:42 +0000Rob Boston2212 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/welcome-to-fantasy-island-religious-right-attorney-misleads-on-council#commentsDelaware Discord: Sussex Council's Recitation Of Lord's Prayer Sparks Conflicthttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/delaware-discord-sussex-councils-recitation-of-lords-prayer-sparks-conflict
<a href="/about/people/joseph-l-conn">Joseph L. Conn</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Contrary to Mr. Phillips&#039; assertion, it hurts everyone when the government prefers one religious tradition over others.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Rehoboth Beach, Del., is sometimes called "the nation's summer capital." Folks from the Washington, D.C., area flock there when the August swelter descends upon us. The resort town is known for its great restaurants, interesting shops, a fun boardwalk and generally progressive viewpoint.</p>
<p>Surrounding Sussex County, however, has a different reputation. The largest county in little Delaware is known for its conservative approach to both religion and politics. Critics sometimes call it "Dela-bama" and that comparison to Alabama is not meant as a compliment.</p>
<p>I visit the Delaware shore a lot, and I've always thought the criticism of Sussex was exaggerated and unfair.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the Sussex County Council is now in the process of giving the community's critics some new ammunition.</p>
<p>The Council, it seems, still opens each of its meetings with a council president-led recitation of the Lord's Prayer.</p>
<p>Huh?</p>
<p>This is 2009, for heaven's sake. Can there really be a unit of government where government officials still impose a Christian prayer on those who attend its official functions?</p>
<p>I'm afraid so.</p>
<p>According to the Cape Gazette, before the start of each meeting, Council President Vance Phillips bows his head and <a href="http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/200905/sussexprayer19.html">leads the council </a>in the Lord's Prayer.</p>
<p>Americans United recently sent a <a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/05/au-letter-to-sussex-co.pdf">letter</a> noting that government-sponsored sectarian prayers are a clear violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. (The letter, AU's second on the subject, also objected to the council's sponsorship of an annual prayer breakfast.)</p>
<p>So far, the response from the Council hasn't been positive. Phillips told the local newspaper that the opening prayer is a good thing, steeped in tradition.</p>
<p>"I've always run on traditional values, and this is a tradition that is not hurting anyone," he said.</p>
<p>Phillips is correct that traditional values are often positive, but not in this case.</p>
<p>Here the U.S. Constitution and the American traditions of individual freedom and pluralism are the values that count. Contrary to Mr. Phillips' assertion, it hurts everyone when the government prefers one religious tradition over others.</p>
<p>The Constitution gives government no authority to get involved in religion. As a matter of fact, it expressly forbids the government to take any action "respecting an establishment of religion."</p>
<p>Sussex County has undergone tremendous growth in recent years. Its burgeoning population includes not only Christians of many stripes, but also Jews, Unitarians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and those who follow no spiritual path at all.</p>
<p>If the Council is going to represent all those people, it should discontinue recitation of the Lord's Prayer. Sussex County has many houses of worship where such devotional activities are more appropriate; I'm sure they would gladly assume the responsibility, and let the Council return to addressing public issues.</p>
</div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lord">Lord</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/rehoboth-beach">Rehoboth Beach</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/sussex-county">Sussex County</a></span></div></div>Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:03 +0000Joseph L. Conn1569 at https://www.au.orghttps://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/delaware-discord-sussex-councils-recitation-of-lords-prayer-sparks-conflict#comments